The easel is one of the most important parts of an artist’s studio set up as it is where work gets made, so you will spend a lot of time in front of one. It is important to select an easel that suits your process and feels comfortable to work at. Besides boosting your creative output, a quality easel will benefit your posture as well.
Each style of easel suits different creative practises and techniques. Plein air painters might be looking for something very lightweight and portable, whilst a watercolourist might require an easel that can lay flat whilst they apply large washes. Artists working at a large scale require a stable easel that can hold large canvases. In this guide we’ve covered a range of different styles of easel used by professional artists, and have selected the best options in each category, looking at build quality, cost, and size.
If you are new to painting, this best art supplies for painting guide will help you kit out your studio set up, and this canvas painting for beginners guide will get you started with painting on canvas.
The best easels for painting: floor standing
Height: 48 inches
This is my pick as the best easel overall. It's sturdy and well-built and has a square base with lockable castors for easy mobility and optimal lighting. I found it to be highly adjustable, accommodating canvases up to 48 inches tall, and offers easy tilting, folding and a handy storage tray for supplies.
Height: 78 inches
If sturdiness and size are important, I found this Medeen easel to be a great choice for larger canvases. It has strong and moveable hinges and rubber grips that provide resistance. This does come at the expense of wheels for mobility, but the easel won't shake or wobble. I found it super easy to assemble, too.
Height: 93 inches
Working on even larger canvases? This Viswin easel is constructed from quality beech wood, and it adjusts to up to 146 inches high. That means it'll comfortably hold a canvas that's up to 93 inches tall: perfect for larger artworks. Best of all, it's got wheels, making it great for mobility.
Height: 48 inches
The options above are on the larger side. If you want something lighter, I think this is a solid option, whether you're a professional artist or just dabbling. Meeden has a great reputation for its easels, which are known for their quality and longevity. This model is made from beechwood and features rust-resistant galvanised hardware. It's solid and expertly constructed, with a beautiful natural wood finish.
Height: 31 inches
This heavy-duty easel is very affordable, and portable enough to be suitable in different environments. I found it sturdy and lightweight enough to serve for travel. It also has a good amount of adjustment options and a ledge for storing tools. Putting it up outside isn't too much work either.
Height: 34 inches
Plein air painters will appreciate this large, adjustable easel that's primarily designed for outdoor use but is equally suitable for painting at home or in the studio. Made from oiled, stain-resistant beechwood with quality steel fittings, its adjustable legs make it easy to position the canvas for optimum painting.
Height: 95 inches
This is a highly versatile easel that can be angled between vertical to completely horizontal, making it ideal for watercolour, thin washes of oil and acrylic or even varnishing. It can be folded flat for convenient storage, and has roller wheels to make it easy to move around.
Height: 66 inches
This sturdy field easel is an excellent lightweight option for someone painting outside. This model has individually adjustable legs, making it easy to set up on uneven ground. The portable design allows it to fold down to 18 inches and it comes with its own carry case, making it easy to bring along.
Height: 43.7 inches
For children, this multi-purpose easel covers a selection of drawing and painting surfaces, including a magnetic whiteboard, paper roll, and chalkboard to work on. It also has a convenient shelf for art supplies and catching paint drips. The height is also adjustable, so it can be used by children as they grow, and the wood is tougher than plastic alternatives.
The best easels for painting: tabletop easels
Max canvas: 23 inches
If you're short on space, or just don't like painting standing up, this lovingly-made, affordable and compact H-frame could be the perfect option. Constructed from beechwood, I found it offered a very stable base for working on a table, and it can be tilted using seven adjustable settings from 41 degrees to 78 degrees.
Max canvas: 21 inches
This box easel features sturdy construction that makes it suitable for everyday use for both drawing and painting. Its carry handle and secure locking buckles make it a great portable option to take out to art classes, and the internal compartments keep art supplies organised.
Max canvas: 40 inches
This option is more expensive, but I found the build and finish to be of excellent quality. It can hold larger canvases than many table easels, and it's made from eco-friendly Lyptus, which is harder than oak. I found it to be super sturdy, with a wide base, a grove for a drawing board and plastic bumps to hold a canvas. The lower shelf adjusts upward, making it easier to move work to eye level.
Max canvas: 28 inches
This great, lightweight starter easel is not only good for sketching but also for plein air painting. There is plenty of storage, which does add to the weight, but the best aspect for me was the range of adjustments it offers. The canvas size can be extended up to 28 inches.
Max canvas: N/A
This foldable kid-focused tabletop easel is made from high-quality wood. It comes with a host of extras, including five chalks, an eraser, 36 number and letter magnets, a built-in, 50-feet long paper roll, and a chalkboard side with coloured chalks. It's fun and should delight young artists.
Max canvas: 20 inches
If you're looking for something more compact than the sketchbox and frame tabletop easels that I've mentioned, and more of a display stand for your art, then this is a great value option. I'm not saying it's the most luxurious option, but if you simply want to display your art on a table, there's no need to pay more. It has rubber feet to avoid sliding and folds away neatly.
FAQs
What are the different types of easel?
There are two main types of easels used by artists. Tripod easels, as the name suggests, have three legs, and may include crossbars to make the easel more stable. H-Frame easels, again as you'd expect, resemble a letter 'H' and are constructed of two vertical posts with a horizontal crossbar support. Both types of design may have extra features for rotating the canvas and adjusting it horizontally and vertically.
Children's easels are generally simpler, smaller and more durable; the younger the target age range, the more so in all respects. Finally, tabletop easels are designed for artists with a limited amount of space, enabling them to angle their canvas while fitting onto a table or desk.
What's the best easel for painting?
The best easel for painting you can buy today is the US Art Supply Medium Wooden H-Frame Studio Easel. This solid and sturdy easel can hold a canvas up to 48 inches high, and can be tilted back if required. It folds flat for easy storage and the wheels make it portable for transporting. In short, it provides everything an artist might need, at a very reasonable price.
What's the best easel for children?
Hape's Adjustable Children's Standing Easel is our top recommendation for kids. It is easy to set up, comes with both a chalk board and magnetic dry-erase board, includes some paint pots and a paper roll, and the height is also adjustable, meaning it will suit growing children for longer. Being made out of wood gives it a sturdier construction as well.
Which easel is best for beginners?
If you are just starting out, opting for a lower cost smaller easel is often a better idea, especially if your workspace is limited. If you prefer to work seated, a tabletop easel like Djar's tabletop box easel is an affordable option. If you prefer standing, a simple folding easel like this Mont Marte Tripod Easel is an inexpensive choice that doesn’t take up too much space and is easy to store.
How to choose the best easel
Many factors dictate what kind of easel will be best for you. The first is where you paint. If it will always be in the studio, you'll want an easel that's as sturdy as possible, however heavy that makes it. (Although if you plan to move it around the room to capture the light, you'll want it to be on wheels.) If you mainly paint outdoors, though, you'll want a lighter easel that's easy to collapse and carry around. Too lightweight and flimsy, though, and it might tip over in a strong wind, so there's a balance to be struck there.
The overall size of your easel will depend on how big a canvas you like to work on, and what height you like to paint at. So it's important to check the dimensions of any easel before you buy it, measure this out with a tape measure, and make sure you're not going to be stooped over or stretching up too much.
Most easels are adjustable, but only within a certain range, so take that into account too. Also, if you use a heavy canvas, a lot of thick paint, and/or heavy collage pieces, think about the amount of weight your easel will need to support.
Finally, consider how you paint. If you like to be energetic, lively and passionate with your strokes, you may need something pretty sturdy to hold everything in place. Conversely, if your approach is more gentle and quiet, you'll be fine with a more lightweight frame.
How we test the best easels
To choose the best easels for this guide I asked for recommendations and feedback from the wide range of working artists who contribute reviews and tutorials to our site. I then tested the easels myself where possible or compared online reviews and specs based on my own experience as an artist. The factors that I took into consideration were structure and build quality, adjustability, and extra features such as groves for different supports and value. I've aimed to choose easels that suit different sizes of canvas and portable options too.
